Worldhotels Case Study

Background

Worldhotels is an exclusive group of independent hotels, offering a handpicked portfolio of 450 properties in 250 destinations across 65 countries. Established in the 1970s, the company is based in Frankfurt and has been active as Worldhotels since 2005. They have a workforce of 135 in 36 locations globally. Most employees work in four major offices in Frankfurt, Singapore, Orlando and New York. The others are based at the numerous locations and in home offices on three continents.

Business challenges

When Worldhotels split from its sister company, IHS, an entirely new communications solution had to be implemented that would seamlessly incorporate the existing phone numbers and take into account the shortage of space at various locations. The response to global alignment, the requirement for mobility and flexibility and limited space soon made it apparent that Worldhotels would greatly benefit from a Cloud solution.

A brilliantly simple solution

Michael Bell, Senior Sales and Consulting Manager with IT services provider Black Box, introduced ShoreTel as the preferred solutions provider. Worldhotels also considered a number of other options such as Innovaphone and NFon, however ShoreTel was the only provider who could meet all the requirements, uniquely positioned to integrate existing phone numbers and transition them to Skype for Business.

“THE SHORETEL SOLUTION IS SO USERFRIENDLY, IT WAS THE RIGHT CHOICE. IT IS EASY TO USE FOR THE END USER AND SIMPLE TO MANAGE FOR I.T. ADMINISTRATORS. WE ARE ALREADY BENEFITING FROM REDUCED CALL RATES.”

Quick implementation, fast payback

From planning to implementation, the project was completed very fast. Worldhotels decided on a ShoreTel solution at the end of April 2016 and the first tests were carried out in August. By the end of October, the employees had all been connected to provider Interoute’s Cloud, and have been enjoying the benefits of the system ever since. Initial projections already show that Worldhotels will be able to reduce their telephone costs by two-thirds in Frankfurt alone.

“THE SHORETEL SOLUTION OFFERS OUR STAFF MAXIMUM FLEXIBILITY. REGARDLESS OF LOCATION, THEY CAN CHECK THEIR COLLEAGUES’ STATUS AND KNOW WHERE THEY ARE. THE INTEGRATED IM CHAT ALSO MAKES INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS MUCH EASIER AND QUICKER. ADDITIONAL FEATURES SUCH AS VOICE SWITCH, VOICEMAIL AND CONFERENCE BRIDGES ARE ALSO INCLUDED, FURTHER ENHANCING THE USER EXPERIENCE. THE USE OF MOBILITY CLIENT ALSO ENSURES THAT STAFF ARE AVAILABLE ON ONE PHONE NUMBER, WHETHER IN THE OFFICE OR AT HOME.”

Michael Bell, Senior Sales and Consulting Manager, Black Box

Positive results

Even though the implementation was only recently completed and not all the staff have yet made the transition to the new system, Worldhotels are already considering expanding the solution.

Alban Differenz, said, “Our telephone system is still virtualised at the Frankfurt data centre but we are considering decentralising this in the future, and also implementing it at our other major locations.

I would recommend ShoreTel’s UC solution to international companies unreservedly, not only for the comprehensive functions but also because of the fast and smooth implementation. It really has exceeded all our expectations.”

Sophie Neubauer, PR and Communications Manager, Worldhotels, added, “Thanks to the scalability of the solution, we are able to connect all our staff to the new Cloud system, worldwide. All employees now have 100% flexibility, enabling us to create a consistent corporate culture for Worldhotels.”

CHALLENGE:

Smooth and intuitive communications across Worldhotels’ global workforce are essential for their continued development and successful growth. Staff are based in various locations and time zones worldwide and also work remotely, so it is critical that they are accessible 24/7 without incurring additional costs such as roaming charges. Worldhotels also required mobility, flexibility and space-saving options. It soon became apparent that the legacy telephone systems would be best replaced by a Cloud solution.

SOLUTION:

ShoreTel Connect CLOUD

ShoreTel Mobile Client

BENEFITS:

Cost-saving: significantly reduced connection and maintenance costs

Global reach: staff can connect seamlessly with colleagues in all locations worldwide

Intuitive: ShoreTel’s easy-to use solution benefits end users and IT administrators, saving time and allowing resources to be allocated to other tasks

Space-saving: the absence of physical hardware frees up space at every site